THE DRAUGHT HORSE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3882, 7 August 1928, Page 12

THE DRAUGHT HORSE.

Trade i-x draught horses at the present time L fairly good providing there is no doubt as to their quality. This demand seems good in countries even where mechanical haulage is much sought after and the roads are in good order. The fact is that the breeding of heavy horses suitable for city work has in recent years been more or less neglected, due in large measure to the lure of the motor and the intensive propaganda on the part of those interested in tractors. It was thought, no doubt, that the haulage work in the cities, and cultivation on rural lands, would be in future a matter for the mechanic. There has, in consequence, been a world decrease in the likeable carthorse, and his uses to the modern man are once Again being appraised at their true value. . Draught horses are coming back according to reports from abroad, and it appears that their uses are particularly marked for haulage purposes over comparatively short distances in the towns, and in cultivating operations on farms of a moderate size.

The active weighty draught horse for urban uses, and the quick-moving fairly heavy animal for farm purposes, are readily saleable. One of the most desirable qualifications in a horse is the ability to walk fast. In farm and road work the fast, even-walking horse covers more miles in a day than one of irregular gait. It is not only a pleasure to handle a fast walker, but it saves time. In these days of high costs the fast walker by doing more work in a given time saves in foodstuffs, and is a more profitable animal to keep It is the general make-up of a horse that determines his pace, and although by careful training the young horse can be much improved it is chiefly the animal’s conformation we must consider. Too much attention cannot be given to training the young horse to walk well. Endless patience is necessary in the early stages, and it is worth all the trouble taken, for walking is the foundation of his usefulness. Not infrequently a splendid mover, has disappointed his owner the first time, he was given some heavy pnllby virtually jibbing, solely because he had never been taught to walk in a vehicle. The farm horse’s work is done at a walking pace. Apart from training much can be done towards the improvement by breeding only from mares that walk well naturally, and putting them to stallions of the right conformation that also walk freely. Now is the time to arrange about breeding from a mare or two. It is a mistaken policy on the part of too . many farmers to refrain from raising a foal or two yearly. The shortage of good young hordes is becoming acute, and as the time goes on good sorts will probably appreciate in value. They cannot be raised in a day, and it is obvious that farmers cannot carry on without horses, no matter how useful the mechanical implement may be. Next to the dog we may, perhaps, rank the horse as man’s best friend. Certainly the countryman who owns a good fawn horse can appreciate his virtues. The grave of Edwin Baker, farmer, of Walworth County, Wis. (U.S.A.), has been marked with the statue of a horse, the animal to which he devoted most of his kindness. It was a blow from the hoof of one of these animals, received when he was 10 years old, which impressed upon Baker the need of kindness to animals. Wherever he went he spread the doctrine, and gained ocwuitry-wide reputation for his

understanding of animals and ability to handle them. It is said that he made friends with many horses that no one else could approach. Sometimes he devoted several weeks on a horse to gain his friendship. The monument has been erected at the instigation of his brot er Arthui, and bear the inscription, “ Be kind to animals.”